Many medical professionals spend anywhere from eighty dollars to two hundred dollars on a good stethoscope only to have the tubing get hard and crack after a year or two of using it. Stethoscopes are frequently worn slung around a person's neck, when they are not being used to examine a patient, and this causes the tubing to be against the person's skin. Acids in the perspiration from the person's skin break down the plastic tubing causing it to get hard and crack. Fabric covers have been used to cover the tubing, but when an individual perspired enough, the perspiration would go through the fabric and harden the stethoscope tubing and cause cracking.
In addition, fabric covers for stethoscope tubing are no longer in use because studies were done and the fabric covers were proven to harbor germs. Generally speaking, stethoscopes are disinfected after each use by using disinfecting disposable wipes or rubbing alcohol. Fabric covers cannot or cannot be easily disinfected after each use, and therefore are no longer used. At this time most medical facilities ban fabric stethoscope covers. It is also known to use flexible plastic bag type disposable covers.